PARLIAMENT TO RESUME SESSION ON OCTOBER 7

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 HARARE 001974 SIPDIS SENSITIVE NSC FOR SENIOR AFRICA DIRECTOR J. FRAZER LONDON FOR C. GURNEY PARIS FOR C. NEARY NAIROBI FOR T. PFLAUMER E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV ZI SUBJECT: PARLIAMENT TO RESUME SESSION ON OCTOBER 7 REF: A. HARARE 1506 ¶B. HARARE 1880 ¶C. HARARE 1135 SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: After making limited progress on the government,s ambitious legislative agenda during the last session, Parliament is slated to resume attention on October 7 to a host of potentially important bills, including an electoral act and an anti-money laundering law. Parliament last adjourned September 11 but not before getting the Privileges Amendment Bill, which would punish members of parliament who boycott a Presidential address, through the first reading or setting the stage for the NGO Bill, which threatens to curtail NGOs' abilities to operate freely within Zimbabwe. Mugabe signed into law this month amendments to the Broadcasting Services Act, passed in June, that may impinge on freedom of expression. On a positive note, despite the continued threats to civil liberties, Parliamentary procedural reforms continue. The most recent change being the Standing Rules and Order Committee's decision to set up a Business Management Committee that would wrest the development of the Parliamentary agenda from the Minister of Judicial, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Patrick Chinamasa to a committee that includes opposition and ruling party members. END SUMMARY. -------------- New Bills -------------- ¶2. (U) Of the seventeen bills Mugabe mentioned in his opening of Parliament speech in July, only two -- the Stock Theft Bill, which reintroduces a minimum mandatory sentence for the theft of horses and cattle, and the Privileges Amendment Bill, which punishes MPs who boycott, interrupt, or walk out on a Presidential address to Parliament -- have reached the first reading stage. (NOTE: Three readings are required before a bill is conveyed to the President for signature. END NOTE.) The NGO Bill President Mugabe mentioned in his opening day speech (Ref A) has run into problems in the Cabinet Committee on Legislation and is back in the Attorney General,s office for drafting. After the brouhaha surrounding the government's August proclamation that all internationally donated food aid would be distributed via government-dominated channels, some within government reportedly are concerned that the NGO bill, as written, would run international assistance out of the country (Ref B). In addition, the government is expected soon to gazette a new regulation or statutory instrument on Promotion of Banking Transactions and Suppression of Money Laundering. (NOTE: According to parliamentary process, bills are fist published (gazetted) in the government gazette at least two weeks before they are introduced in Parliament. After gazetting, the bill proceeds to the first reading. END NOTE.) Other key bills receiving attention are amendments to the Mines and Minerals Act, which reportedly may receive public hearing, and a supplementary budget authorization. -------------- Old Business -------------- ¶3. (U) Two controversial bills -- the Citizenship Bill and Electoral Bill -- were dropped in June during the last session; however, the Electoral Bill is being redrafted and is expected to be resubmitted. Both the Parliamentary Legal Committee, which checks bills for constitutional irregularities, and the Portfolio Committee on Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs were critical of the bill and suggested a government redraft. As originally drafted, the Electoral Bill would have vested observer accreditation powers with the government, restricted provision of voter education, limited voter eligibility, and severely restricted posting of electioneering materials. ¶4. (U) There has been no movement on the suspension of MDC MP Tafadzwa Musekiwa, who has missed more than the constitutional limit of 21 consecutive days of Parliament. ¶5. (U) Just before the last Parliament closed in June, Parliament passed the AIPPA Amendment Act and the Broadcasting Services Amendment Act. The President signed the Broadcasting Services Amendment Act into law in September, after a period far exceeding the 21 days allowed for assent into law by the Constitution. The AIPPA Amendment Act has yet to be signed. The amended AIPPA Act is not much different from the original one -- most of the changes adopted by the government were cosmetic and did not address major problems identified by the Portfolio Committee (Ref C). The Broadcasting Services Amendment Act is intended to expand the original Act's scope of coverage, notably appearing to encompass internet service providers. The original Act, passed in April 2001, enabled the Ministry of Information to regulate or effectively ban new private radio and TV stations and community radios by refusing to isssue licenses. -------------- Parliamentary Reforms Continue -------------- ¶6. (U) On a rare positive note, during its August meeting, the Standing Rules and Order Committee agreed to establish a Business Management Committee (BMC). The BMC would monitor and oversee the implementation of the House, set the annual program--including the legislative agenda--implement the rules regarding scheduling and functioning of committees, and issue directives and guidelines to prioritize House benefits. Prior to the formation of this Committee, the Leader of the House and Minister of Justice, Legal, and Parliamentary Affairs Patrick Chinamasa managed the house. After a bit of cajoling earlier in the year, Chinamasa agreed to the formation of the committee. The BMC comprises the Speaker of the House (Emmerson Mnangagwa-ZANU-PF),the Deputy Speaker (Edna Madzongwe-ZANU-PF),the Leader of the Opposition (Welshman Ncube-MDC),the Chief Whip (Joram Gumbo-ZANU-PF) and the Opposition Whip (Innocent Gonese-MDC). At the August meeting, SROC agreed to meet again in October and to decide which portfolio committee chairpersons to retain. The SROC also agreed to meet three times a year versus the annual meetings they now hold. -------------- COMMENT -------------- ¶7. (SBU) Zimbabwe's legislative agenda continues to manifest the government's interest in tightening controls on potential opposition in its various guises. The Broadcasting Services Act amendments and NGO bill would appear to give government AIPPA-like means to harass and/or control potential critics outside the press arena. While ostensibly of value against organized crime and terrorist organizations, the anti-money laundering bill likely will enhance the government's legal means to investigate and to seize the assets of regime critics. Civil society is tracking the bills closely, and a September 25 Supreme Court decision upholding Capitol Radio's constitutional challenge of certain provisions of the Broadcast Services Act probably foreshadows more constitutional attacks on the government's legislative output. ¶8. (SBU) The MDC continues to feel its way in Parliament but appears still largely unprepared to exploit its considerable presence there. Although the constitution permits any MP to introduce a private bill, to our knowledge none of the MPs have ever done so and the parliamentary opposition remains essentially a reactive force. None seem interested, for instance, in challenging the Broadcasting Services Amendment Act's signature into law long after the period permitted by the Constitution for signature had expired. ¶9. (SBU) We will reseve judgement for now on the Standing Rules and Order Committee until we have seen how this body functions in practice, and wheteher it will redress some of the more egregious failings of procedure engineered by Chinamasa in pursuit of ZANU-PF's legislative agenda. END COMMENT. SULLIVAN